John Stango’s grandparents immigrated to America from the Foggia region in Italy. His father, also named John, would return to Italy while serving in the Navy. In fact, he survived the Normandy invasion in World War II. John Sr. met John’s mom Elaine (née Rockwell) in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia.

Also an artist, John remembers her painting watercolors as he was growing up. It’s no surprise then that decades later, his longtime partner Mimi discovered via ancestry.com that the famed artist Norman Rockwell is actually a cousin. “I’m second-generation Italian American,” he says. “We lived in West Philadelphia in a small apartment above one of dad’s barbershops at 55th and Baltimore before settling in Yeadon when I was 4 years old.”